


james lives

by yellowmarshmallow



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Baby Harry, I cried writing it, James Potter Lives, M/M, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), all the marauders need a hug, but i continued anyway?, jily, seriously i cried writing part of it, sorry but i had the idea and wrote part of it at 3am, why did I write this, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:27:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26223358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowmarshmallow/pseuds/yellowmarshmallow
Summary: What if James Potter wasn't in Godric's Hollow on Halloween?(basically what were to happen if james didnt die)
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 128





	james lives

The air was unusually warm for October, and the sky had a distinct lack of clouds, meaning you could see the stars. However, the thick haze coming from the Lights down in London, obscured most of the stars, until only the brightest were visible. The back streets on the outskirts of London were loud and filled with children and their parents, all trick-or-treating, except they all seemed to skip one specific house, right in the middle of the street, as they would remember a curfew or their child was distracted by the decorations of another house.

A man with circular framed glasses and unruly black curls, appeared in front of the house in the blink of an eye, as if he had just appeared like magic – which he had. James had apparated just outside the protective wards surrounding the house that was currently the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. Adjusting his glasses, which had slipped down his nose as he apparated, James made a mental note to thank Lily for persuading him to not wear a coat out – it was definitely not cold enough to wear a coat.

Dumbledore always insisted that Lily and James partook in their monthly meetings, so they would be up to date with what was happening concerning Voldemort and his followers. As Harry was still too young for side-along apparation, only one of them would join the Order every month – it’s not impossible to side-along with a baby, but the risks outweighed the benefits. James was supposed to stay with Harry this month, but Lily had been kept up by a crying Harry, trying to soothe him with lullabies and stories. James had tried to help, but Lily insisted he go back to bed – which had nothing to do with the fact that James tended to turn into a stag around Harry when startled.

Earlier in the evening, James had walked in on Lily, dozing off in an armchair in the lounge, cradling Harry who was also dozing off, and told her that he would go to the meeting instead, and she could get some rest.

James hoped this meeting would be short; he always felt on edge when he was away from Harry and Lily; he guessed that’s how it felt to be in constant danger.

“James,” a voice called, startling James from his thoughts, his hand went straight to his wand as he turned around to see Dumbledore.

“Professor,” James sighed, relived it was only his old headmaster. Dumbledore looked no different than he did when James arrived at Hogwarts ten years ago, though he supposed that’s what happens when you reach a certain age.

Dumbledore reached inside his robes, and revealed a familiar silvery cloak. “I must say, it was intriguing to look at, I can't figure out how it works at all," Dumbledore smiled, a known twinkle in his eye. "Thank you for letting me look at it."

“Anytime Professor,” James grinned, grasping the cold silk-like cloak in his hands. “Not much I can use it for nowadays anyway,” he shrugged, folding the cloak over his arm.

The two wizards headed inside the house. It used to belong to one of the members of the Order, a member James had never really had much interaction with. When they died, it felt wrong to use the house, but there was no where else they could safely hold a meeting. They walked into the front room and James noticed the table had shrank, with multiple chairs missing.

He frowned.

“How many are coming this month?” he asked, his stomach twisting with guilt.

“Only young Remus will be joining us tonight I’m afraid,” Dumbledore said, hanging his head solemnly.

James winced, sucking in a breath, feeling sick. “You don’t mean -"

“They’re not dead, you don’t need to worry,” Dumbledore assured, but James didn’t feel any better. “However, it saddens me to say our numbers have dwindles as of late.”

"So everyone else is out on a mission?" he asked, knowing Dumbledore wouldn't be able to elaborate on much else.

"In a way," the professor replied, and James sighed. “Sirius returned only a few hours ago, I imagine he is taking a well-earned rest at the moment,” Dumbledore said, as if reading James' mind.

Sighing in relief, James smiled gratefully at Dumbledore. Whenever Sirius went on a mission, James worried he wouldn’t return. Sirius was some of the only family James had left, after he lost his parents a few years back. He was like a brother. “That’s good to hear.”

The door opened and Remus traipsed in, a faint smile on his lips. He looked worse for wear, with his hair dishevelled and noticeably uncut. There were bags under his eyes from countless sleepless nights, most likely due to Sirius being on a mission, and his skin was a greyish hue. However, his eyes had a shine to them that James knew must have been from seeing Sirius.

“Moony!” James exclaimed, attacking the werewolf in a hug, almost knocking the two of them over. “ _Merlin,_ it’s been ages since we saw each other.” Whenever James came to these meetings, it was usually Sirius that he saw.

“It has,” Remus replied, returning the hug with just as much enthusiasm. “Pads says ‘ _hello'_ by the way,” Remus said, as he pulled away from the hug.

“How is he?” James asked, hoping he only had a few scrapes and bruises.

“He’s – _alive,”_ Remus frowned, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “He was asleep when I left, he,” Remus paused, his frown deepening. “Apparently Regulus is missing, and Sirius hasn’t had many letters since that one about, _you know,_ ” Remus’ eyes flickered to Dumbledore. The three had sworn not to talk about what the letter mentioned, for Regulus' own protection. “And Sirius – he found out during a fight with Bellatrix.”

James matched Remus' frown, only imagining the pain Sirius must be feeling, and the guilt. “Shit Moony, tell him to visit yeah?”

Remus nodded, the frown making no effort to move. “How’s Lily?” he asked, trying to smile.

James faintly smiled, remembering Lily’s sour mood today. “She’s good. Although she had to stay up half the night because our little Prongslet would _not stop_ crying.” 

Remus chuckled, glancing around the room. “Is it only us tonight?” he asked, his eyebrows conveying his concern.

“I’m afraid so Remus,” Dumbledore nodded, his eyes gliding across the empty seats. “We’ve lost quite a few this month.” As he spoke, James felt a lump form in his throat and noticed Remus looked not too dissimilar.

They sat down at one end of the table, with Dumbledore at the end and Remus and James opposite each other. The meetings always began with who had lost their lives over the last month, before they spoke about their agenda and strategy and whatever updates people had to share. Dumbledore adjusted his half-moon glasses and began the list, every name increasing the churning in James' stomach.

The first names mentioned where Marlene and Dorcas, Lily's best friends. James didn’t know what to think. They had written a letter to Lily only two weeks prior, and they’d been murdered in their own home, which had been found in shambles. James and Remus made eye contact across the table, and knew exactly why they’d been targeted – to find the Potters. Next on the list was someone James had only ever met briefly, but Remus looked crestfallen at the news as they’d gone on quite a few missions together. Lastly, was Alice and Frank, who had been tortured mad – and James couldn’t think of a worse fate for the couple, who had always been so gentle and kind. They had a son around Harry’s age, Neville. James wondered what would happen to the boy.

Every name made James feel more and more restless. He spent everyday in the safety of Godric's Hollow, whilst everyone else he knew risked their lives for the wizarding world. All he wanted to do was help them, prevent the death and destruction that happened on a daily basis.

“Let’s hope their sacrifices were not in vain, we shall remember them as we remember all who fall,” Dumbledore said. “Now, we’ve managed to track down -"

With a flurry of silver wisps of smoke, a large silvery-blue doe burst through the wall, interrupting Dumbledore. James stood to his feet, his chair falling backwards.

It was Lily’s doe.

The doe opened her mouth and Lily’s voice echoed from within the Patronus. “He’s here,” the doe said. “James I –“ Lily was interrupted by a loud _bang_. “I love you so much James,” and with that, the doe disintegrated, leaving nothing but dread in James' stomach. He didn’t hear what Remus and Dumbledore said, as he ran as fast as he could outside of the wards, apparating as soon as he felt the magic of the wards vanish.

James’s stomach twisted and curled when he landed, partially due to his shaky apparation, but mostly due to the scene before him. The house, their _home,_ was only half there. The walls on one side of their home had crumbled and concaved, leaving nothing but rubble and a few standing bricks around the bottom. James couldn’t even tell where the living room used to be. James could see into a few of the remaining rooms, and prayed his family was in one of them, and not beneath the ever growing pile of bricks.

As much as James tried to will his feet to move, he couldn’t. His feet stayed planted in front of the gate, which had been blasted opened. His eyes stayed on the rubble.

He had been gone for half an hour.

When there was a loud _crack_ of someone apparating behind him, James didn’t even flinch, his mind unwilling to process what he was looking at.

“James,” he heard Sirius whisper beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder to pull him from his thoughts. “We need to – maybe they’re – Lily’s – she’s smart, maybe she...” Sirius tried to assure, but his voice lacked any conviction and James continued to stare at the ruins of his home.

His child.

His wife.

His _family._

And that was when he heard it. The faint whimpering and cries from upstairs. “Harry,” he breathed out, the hope bubbling in his chest. If Harry was alive, then maybe... “Lily!” he called out, scrambling over the rubble to the stairs, which hadn’t collapsed. “Lily! _Merlin,_ Lily! _Please_ –“ he called out in desperation, running up the stairs faster than he ever imagined he could, to Harry’s room, where the cries where coming from.

Harry was alive, James was certain of that now, and if Harry were alive, how could Lily not be?

James burst into Harry’s room, and felt his hope seep from within him into the floorboards. “Lily?” he whispered, his body going numb. “Lily? Please don’t be -" he choked, falling to his knees beside her crumpled body, his hands trembling as he reached for her head, brushing the hair from her eyes.

It only looked like she was sleeping.

“Wake up _please,”_ he said, the desperation clawing at his throat. “I – we promised to raise him together, you have to be -"

His hands wouldn’t stop shaking. His head was spinning.

James knew that Lily was dead. He _knew_ but he didn’t want to know. He wanted to believe that she was asleep, that there wasn’t another body in the room, that there wasn’t a baby crying.

A baby crying... James realised, scrambling to his feet, and rushing over to Harry’s cot, briefly noticing Remus and Sirius in the door frame, quietly arguing as Sirius was trying to pull out his wrist from Remus' grasp.

He cradled Harry to his chest, comforting the child as he cried. “It’s OK Pronglet, I’ve got you, Daddy’s got you, you’re OK,” he murmured softly, bobbing the child up and down as he walked around in a small circle. He racked his brain, trying to remember what song Lily had sang to him this morning that calmed Harry down. " _Seaside whenever you stroll along with me  
  
I'm merely contemplating what you feel inside  
  
Meanwhile I ask you to be my Clementine  
  
You say you will if you could but you can't  
  
I love you madly -_" he choked on a sob that scratched at his throat as Harry fell asleep, his little hand wrapped around James' finger. His soft singing of _Seaside Rendezvous_ had stopped whatever argument Remus and Sirius had been having, and Sirius was curled up in the doorway, with Remus tentatively rubbing circles on his back, forcing his eyes shut, looking like as if he was a few seconds away from fainting.

“That _fucking rat_ ,” Sirius spat, curling his hands into fists, and grasping at his hair. The volume of his voice caused Harry to stir.

James blinked at Sirius, and froze. “You don’t think -"

“There’s _no one_ else,” Sirius said through gritted teeth, his voice low.

James shook his head, not wanting to belief it. “But he – why would he – was he _tortured_?” James asked quietly, horrified at the idea.

Remus shook his head. “You can’t – it can’t be forced out, you have to give it willingly,” Remus said his eyes darkening as he spoke.

"No," James whispered, his insides swirling with anger, guilt, confusion, and betrayal. His grip on Harry tightened as he stared at the other body in the room. "So that _is_..."

"You-Know-Who," Sirius finished, standing up once more.

"Is he dead?" Remus asked, hesitating as he took a step forward.

"Seems like it," James replied.

"How though? It can't have been -" Sirius said, his eyes glossing over as he looked once more at Lily. "And Harry's only a baby," he frowned, looking at Harry properly for the first time who stirred again, his eyes opening, and he smiled as he saw Sirius.

Harry stretched out an arm and Sirius smiled weakly, offering a finger to the child who grasped it firmly. "Hey Pup," he said softly, and Harry giggled, unaware of his own mother's death.

James smiled fondly at his son. His child, Lily's child. His eyes began to sting and before he could try to stop it, he was crying, sinking to the floor. Sirius dropped down next to him, wrapping his arms around the other, hugging him as best he could.

"She's gone," James croaked, as Remus bent down on his other side, also wrapping his arms around James. "She's really gone," he whispered, his heart aching as Harry frowned, patting his tiny hand on his cheek as he’d seen his mother do whenever James was upset.

The three Marauders stayed exactly as they were, comforting each other as they cried, mourning for Lily. Their shallow breaths pushed at the silence, only interrupted by a babbling Harry who stayed in James' arms. It was only once Harry had drifted off again hours later, that they broke apart. Remus tried his hardest to produce a Patronus, failing a few times before a corporeal version stood in front of him. He sent a quick message to Dumbledore, explaining what they’d found.

_Lily dead. You-Know-Who possibly dead too. Peter a traitor._

James hadn’t noticed his eyes droop, as he clutched his child close to him, scared he would lose more of his family. He fell asleep, curled on the floor, with Harry peacefully sleeping in his arms.

\-----

Sunlight flooded the room, coating every surface in a golden light. The air was still and quiet, and despite the sunny weather, no birds were chirping. The warmth of the sun creeped around the room, and James' nose twitched as the sunlight reached his face. He blinked feverishly as he woke, the memory of the night before still fresh in his mind. However, the lack of bodies and the cheery weather gave him a sliver of false hope, that maybe it had been a bad dream, but when Sirius entered the room, his expression sombre, James knew it was real.

“Hey,” Sirius said, forcing a small smile. “How’s Harry?” he asked, as he was able to guess at how James felt.

“Out cold, I think,” James replied, his voice hoarse. “What time is it?”

“Almost midday,” Sirius said, sitting cross-legged next to him. “Remus is back at home, setting up a room for you and Harry.”

James felt a warmth spread through his chest. “Thank you, Sirius,” he said, with a half-hearted smile. “Are you sure it’s all right for us to stay?”

“’Course it is,” Sirius nodded. “You’re my best friend _and my brother_ Prongs, you can stay as long as you need.”

“Thanks Pads,” James muttered. He hadn’t thought about where he would be staying, but, even if it were repaired, staying in Godric's Hollow would be too much.

“The Order came whilst you were sleeping,” Sirius said. “And they took – _you know_ ,” he sighed, his eyes flickering to where Lily had been. “I told them not to, not until you were awake at least, but Dumbledore’s orders apparently." He placed a hand on James’ knee. “I brought my bike over, so we can head over to ours whenever you’re ready, take as long as you need,” he said, smiling weakly at James who nodded.

Sirius pushed himself off the floor and headed to the door. “She was pregnant,” James whispered, and Sirius stopped in his tracked. “I found out two days ago that we were going to have another child and -" his breath hitched just as Sirius rushed back to James' side.

“James,” Sirius said horrified, his voice gentle and filled with sympathy.

“Harry needs me Sirius, he _needs_ me but how am I supposed to be there for him? I can’t do this on my own, not without Lily,” he shook his head and Sirius gripped both of his arms.

“You won’t be alone, you have me and Remus,” Sirius informed, his eyes staring at James. “You won’t be alone in this all right?”

James nodded, blinking through his tears as Harry woke up. He blinked his emerald eyes, eyes that were just like his mothers, and smiled as they focused on his dad. “Morning Prongslet,” he murmured, smiling at his son with a sadness in his eyes. Harry frowned, stretching his arms to his dad’s face, and pushing his cheeks upwards, to stretch his smile.

Sirius chuckled. “I swear he’s smarter than us two combined, and he’s a baby,” Sirius joked, and James joined in, chuckling along with Sirius.

“Thank Merlin he got his Mother’s smarts,” James said, watching Harry bash his hands together, giggling at his dad’s change in mood.

Sirius shrugged. “It’s not like you had much to pass on.”

Grinning, James elbowed Sirius in his sides. “Sod off you git,” he said, his smile fading once more. He sighed. “It doesn’t feel real,” he told Sirius, who nodded. “This time yesterday, we were joking around with baby names,” he grinned, his eyes glossing over as they filled with tears. “I managed to convince her to at least consider PJ this time, but she wanted something classier, like Emily or Matilda.”

“PJ is still the better option,” Sirius said, smiling as James laughed.

“Lily hates it, she says it’s tacky and tasteless,” James replied, not knowing he was crying until Harry began to whine, pulling him out of his trance. “Shit he’s going to need feeding, is the kitchen…?”

“It’s – functional,” Sirius replied, meaning the kitchen was one of the rooms that had a gaping hole in one side. “What do you need?”

“It’s all right, I’ll get it,” James smiled meekly as Harry’s cried got louder. “He’ll want that weird mushed up baby food,” he grimaced, and Sirius chuckled.

“Ah yes, the stuff that looks like vomit,” he nodded, and James couldn’t help it, he cracked a smile.

“That’s the one. Although it doesn’t all look like that, just the apple ones he likes at breakfast,” James sighed, pushing himself from the ground with a cracking noise from his joints.

Within the hour, the three of them were on Sirius’ bike, flying under a concealment charm. As James had fed Harry in the crumbling kitchen, squeezing his eyes shut every time his thoughts drifted to Lily and the hole leading outside behind him, Sirius packed a bag, knowing how difficult it would have been for James to rifle through their belongings. He packed clothes and toys for Harry as well as some clothes for James. They would return at a later date to retrieve anything of importance.

The ride to the Black-Lupin house was painfully quiet. James was squeezed into the side car, Harry wrapped in a bundle of blankets, giggling as they flew through the air.

\-----

“ _I swear to Merlin_ , if you think I’m going to let you –“

“I’m sorry Mr Lupin, it isn’t a matter of whether you will _let_ us, he is our top suspect,” the Auror sighed, visibly agitated by Remus’ lack of compliance.

“And I’ve told you, Peter Pettigrew is the traitor, not Sirius,” Remus growled, clenching his fists. “Just because he’s a fucking Black, you assume that he is the reason his brother’s wife is dead,” he spat, glaring daggers at the Auror who seemed entirely unbothered.

“James Potter is not his brother,” the Auror replied, looking bored. “And that is beyond the point, Sirius Black is the _obvious_ choice for a Secret Keeper. If he is, as you’ve made _abundantly_ clear, like a brother to James Potter, then why would the Potter’s choose Peter Pettigrew?”

Remus gritted his teeth, trying to keep his composure. Whilst attacking an Auror wouldn’t land him in Azkaban, it would not help Sirius. “For the exact reasons you’ve just stated Auror Meriwether, it was the obvious choice,” he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Sirius hadn’t arrived yet, which meant they were either somewhere over the skies of Britain, or still in Godric’s Hollow. “And as I’ve said, Sirius isn’t here, he’s _with_ James and Harry, who will arrive sometime today, you are welcome to return later and ask James himself who his own fucking Secret Keeper was,” he said, trying to close the door.

The Auror placed his foot in the door. His expression had switched from bored nonchalance, to a nasty snarl. “And what would happen if I were to say a werewolf attacked me whilst I tried to detain a possible Death Eater?” he said, his voice calm.

Remus felt his blood go cold, his stomach churning. This was not what he had been expecting from the Ministry. He knew they would not believe the Order, and would most likely try to question Sirius, but wanting to arrest him and threatening Remus due to his lycanthropy was a new low that made Remus clench his fists until he could feel blood trickling down his fingers.

There was a low rumbling noise at the end of the road, and Remus thanked every God he could think of that Sirius had decided to listen to him for once and drove up to the house rather than flew. Ignoring the Auror, he stepped outside and closed the door. “Here you go, time to ask James yourself,” he smiled, watching with morbid glee as the Auror went pale.

Everyone knew of the Potter’s, what happened had been front page news in the Prophet this morning, but even without that, James and Lily were known war heroes, who had directly saved multiple lives.

Sirius clambered off the bike and wrapped Remus in a tight embrace, tired both emotionally and physically, clearly not seeing the Auror standing to the left. “Merlin, Re, I love you so much yeah?” he mumbled, and Remus wondered what had transpired in the time he had been gone to cause Sirius to act like this.

“I love you too Siri,” he said softly, returning to hug.

“Who are you?” James asked warily, forcing Remus back into the moment.

“This is Auror Meriwether, who insists that Peter is not the traitor,” Remus said, and James kept his eyes on the Auror, his eyebrows furrowed until he saw the Auror’s eyes flicker to Sirius, who deflated as he realised what Meriwether was implying.

“Oh, _fuck_ no,” James exclaimed, handing Harry over the Remus who stepped back, knowing exactly how James was about to react. James marched over to the Auror, pulling his wand out of his pocket, and directed it at Meriwether, who flinch instinctively. “I have just lost _my wife_ , almost lost _my child_ , _my parents died_ only a few months ago, if you think I’m letting you take away _my brother_ so you can throw him in Azkaban for no reason other than his _last name_ , I will hex you until you can’t remember your _own_ last name, got it?” he snarled, his voice dangerously low.

The Auror nodded shakily, visibly gulping and apparating on the spot, likely to quickly let the Ministry know they should focus their efforts on Peter – or hopefully doing that, at least.

“Finally,” Remus said, sighing with relief. “I’ve been trying to get him to leave for the past half an hour.”

Sirius’ eyes darkened. “Did he hurt you? Did he threaten you?” he asked, bringing a hand up to Remus’ face, scanning his features.

“No and yes, so overall, not that different to my normal life as a werewolf,” Remus shrugged, leaning into Sirius’ touch.

“Fuck the Ministry,” James spat, and as Sirius nodded furiously in agreement, Remus couldn’t help but chuckle.

“How about we head inside, and figure out how to overthrow the government when we all have a cup of tea?” Remus offered.

\-----

Three days later they received a letter from of apology from the Ministry for Meriwether’s conduct as they had found and arrested Peter, who confessed to everything. During those three days, the three Marauders had been going back and forth between Godric’s Hollow and the Black-Lupin cottage, retrieving anything of significance. James found it difficult to go back there, but it helped him to accept that Lily was truly gone, and with the help of Remus at two in the morning one day, he had arranged her funeral service for the Saturday after next.

James had never been more thankful to have Remus and Sirius by his side. Whenever the grief was too much, or he didn’t know what to do, they were there. When he found it difficult to get out of bed, they would care for Harry. When he needed a shoulder to cry on, Sirius would always be there. James knew he would be forever grateful.

None of them spoke about Peter except in mumbled disbelief.

“If that arsehole isn’t fired, then I don’t really care,” Sirius had grumbled as he read the Chief of Auror’s apology, sitting cross-legged on the floor opposite James, just to the left of Remus who was sat on the sofa.

“It was only a threat Pads, and I’m fine,” Remus rolled his eyes, kissing the top of Sirius’ head as Harry waddled towards the two of them, James looking as if he were about to cry with pride.

“I’m with Padfoot on this one Moony, that bloke was way – Harry _don’t_ climb on Uncle Sirius – way out of line, and a written apology isn’t going to – Harry, _no_ ,” James insisted, grabbing Harry round the middle as he pulled on Sirius’ hair and carried Harry onto his lap. “You can’t climb on people,” he scolded, trying not to let Harry’s pouting features keep him from scolding his son. “Don’t look at me like that, you can’t climb on people.”

“Pad!” Harry exclaimed, flailing his chubby arms as he wriggled, trying to escape his dads grasp.

The other three froze. “Did he just –“

“Pad!” he exclaimed, again, interrupting James who started to cry, grinning wider than humanly possible.

“His first word, Merlin, and it’s Dad,” James smiled, hugging Harry. “Well done Prongslet, I’m proud of you.”

“Is he saying Dad or Pads?” Remus asked, and Sirius began to laugh as James noticed Harry reaching out for Sirius.

“Sirius, did you corrupt my child?” James asked, handing Harry over to Sirius.

“Pad! Pad! Pad!” Harry exclaimed happily, clapping his hands together. Sirius bit on his lip, suppressing a laugh.

“You did, didn’t you!” James accused.

Remus glanced between the two, amused. “Padfoot, did you really manage to do this in three days?”

“Maybe,” Sirius chuckled, as Harry tugged at his hair again. “ _Ow_ , _ow_ , wotcha Pup,” he groaned, trying to disentangle Harry’s tiny fingers from his hair. “Prongs, tell your devil child to stop pulling on my hair.”

“I don’t know, since you’re his favourite,” James replied, bitterly, chuckling as Sirius’ eyes widened.

“I – Moony!” he whined, turning to his boyfriend who shrugged.

“This was your idea Pads, don’t get me involved,” Remus smirked, and Sirius groaned, diverting his attention back to Harry.

“Right little man, little Pup, just – _ow_ – let go.” Sirius somehow managed to get Harry to let go of his hair – it was an amusing ten minutes for James and Remus, who knew it was really just some harmless fun, but Sirius made it sound as if he were about to die at the hands of a 15 months old baby.

“Pad, Pad, Pad,” Harry chanted giggling as he waddled back to his dad, who was rolling his eyes with a smile.

“You are a little troublemaker, aren’t you Prongslet,” he chuckled, as Harry stumbled into his lap. James picked Harry up and placed him on his knee. “You’ll make a fine Marauder one day,” he joked, ticking Harry’s sides, and making him giggle. James felt his stomach drop. “Lily would have loved this,” he said quietly.

Sirius glanced over at Remus; who’s eyebrows drew together.

“She would have been mad that you influenced his first word, but amused that it’s so close to Dad,” he smiled sadly. Harry yawned, leaning back into his dad’s torso.

That’s when James noticed it; the faint lines like a lightning bolt spreading across Harry’s forehead. He gently brushed Harry’s hair from his face and stared at the lightning scar. “Has Harry had this since Halloween?” he asked, his eyes tracing the scar.

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows to match Remus’ expression. “I – is it not a birthmark? We thought it was…” Sirius trailed off, glancing at Remus who had his eyes fixed on the scar.

“Definitely wasn’t there before,” James muttered, with a sigh. “ _Fuck_ ,” he hissed under his breath, inhaling deeply.

“It’s a curse scar,” Remus said, his eyes narrowing as he examined Harry from afar. “But from what –“

“A _curse_ scar?” Sirius exclaimed, his head flipping between Harry and Remus. “And we didn’t notice for _three_ days? Surely he needs to go to St Mungo’s,” Sirius said, his voice shaky.

Remus shook his head. “The scar usually means the magic is gone, that it was deflected or,” Remus paused. “Or absorbed. It’s not dangerous now – but it is curious.”

James let out a breath he was holding. “So he’s okay?” he asked, watching as Remus looked taken back for a moment before smiling meekly.

“He’ll be fine, it might raise a few questions but – are you okay?” Remus asked, and Sirius tensed, suggesting he had been avoiding asking this question.

James shook his head. “How can I be?” he mumbled. “I want to be, but,” he paused, unable to finish his sentence as a lump formed in his throat.

“We’re here for you Prongs,” Sirius smiled tentatively, reaching out and placing a hand on James’ knee.

“And we’ll be here until you don’t need us anymore,” Remus added, as Sirius squeezed tightly on James’ knee to agree with what Remus was saying.

“I might always need you,” James admitted, bouncing Harry slightly as he dozed off.

“Then we’ll always be here,” Remus said, smiling as James who tried his best to turn the smile.

“We love you Prongs, you’re family, both of you are family,” Sirius said, nodding his head towards Harry. “Even if Harry is the spawn of the devil at times,” he winced, rubbing at his scalp.

James laughed.

“The point Pads is trying to make, is we’re in this together,” Remus smiled. “Lily – she wouldn’t want us to sit around feeling sorry for ourselves, she’d want us to have a laugh and she’d tell you how great of a father you are and will continue to be.”

James smiled sadly and nodded. It wasn’t going to be easy, and he was going to miss Lily until his dying breath, but he wasn’t alone.

**Author's Note:**

> I have notes for an entire fic on this but I dont have the patience, the inspiration or the motivation (or the time, sadly) but if you'd like me to post my notes on this idea, id gladly do so :)


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